BeWild Speaker Series - Introducing 2019 Lineup

The Mountaineers are proud to present the BeWild Speaker Series, putting passion and adventure on the stage! Come to these talks to unlock inspiration to seek adventure, connect with nature, and work to protect the wild places we cherish.

For five years, The Mountaineers has been proud to present our BeWild Speaker Series, putting passion and adventure on the stage! Come to these talks to unlock inspiration to seek adventure, connect with nature, and work to protect the wild places we cherish. This year we welcome an arctic explorer, Caribou photographer, record-setting thru hiker, and barrier-breaking rock climber.

Photo by Arlette Laan

MARCH 12, 2019

heather "Anish" Anderson | What Life on the Nation's Longest Trails Has Taught Me

In November of 2018 Heather Anderson, known as “Anish” on trail, became the only woman to have completed a calendar year “Triple Crown of Backpacking,” completing the Appalachian, Pacific Crest, and Continental Divide National Scenic Trails in a single calendar year. In the process, she set a female Fastest Known Time (FKT) for the route— hiking it in 251 days, 20 hours, 10 minutes and is the only female “Triple Triple Crowner” having completed the entire route three times. Join us to hear Heather tell stories from her new memoir, Thirst: 2600 Miles to Home, published by Mountaineers Books, and discover what she learned about herself and life on the trail.

PHOTO byJohn Evans

MAY 14, 2019

Molly Mitchell | Finding the Fight

Molly Mitchell has been climbing for 9 years, achieved some notable trad and sport climbing ascents, and become a strong coaching figure in the community; however, she also admits that many times her professional climbing career has felt like an uphill battle. In her speech, Mitchell will go in depth about how overcoming barriers has made her both physically and mentally stronger, and how she has achieved her lofty trad and sport goals by addressing her inner struggles and finding inspiration through giving back to others.

Special thanks to our BeWild 2019 season sponsors

Past 2019 BeWild Events

JANUARY 8, 2019

For more than thirty years, Paul Souders’ adventure travels as a professional photographer have taken him across seven continents. He had often dreamed of photographing the Arctic’s most iconic animal, the polar bear, in its natural habitat. Turning his camera on these magnificent and utterly wild creatures became his unlikely quest—an obsession really. From his memoir Arctic Solitaire, published by Mountaineers Books, Paul shares his stunning images and humorous, and sometimes white-knuckled, stories of setting out, battling Arctic storms, visiting isolated Inuit villages, and experiencing a few, truly magical days of wildlife and photo opportunities beyond his imagination.

February 12, 2019

DAVID MOSKOWITZ | CARIBOU RAINFOREST: FROM HEARTBREAK TO HOPE

Join us for our February BeWild with David Moskowitz. David’s work as a photographer, biologist, and wildlife tracker has led him deep into the world’s largest remaining inland temperate rainforest, home to the elusive, critically endangered mountain caribou.

David spent years in the backcountry tracking and photographing these magnificent animals in order to understand and share their story with the world in Caribou Rainforest: From Heartbreak to Hope, a new book from Braided River.

He will share the stunning images captured over the course of his hiking and skiing expeditions in search of the notoriously shy woodland caribou, and discuss what he has discovered about this fragile ecosystem and the unique animal that both depends on and defends it.